Twenty semifinalists have been chosen for Social Venture Partners Cincinnati’s 2015 Fast Pitch competition, and the nonprofits selected are hard at work honing their presentations. The Feb. 11 finals at Memorial Hall are intended to help nonprofits inform the public about their work via three-minute pitches.

Eight finalists will ultimately compete, but before the cutdown the 20 semifinalists attended a training session Jan. 10 on the essence of storytelling, led by Liz Knuppel, managing partner of Skystone Partners.

“The Saturday morning session helped us to re-focus on our most basic, compelling story,” says Florence Tandy, executive director of the Northern Kentucky Community Action Commission, one of the semifinalists selected. “We know what we do, why we do it, of course. But the process we went through at the workshop helped us break our mission and services down in a different way.”

Dean Kirker of Healthy Visions, also a semifinalist, shared similar sentiments.

“We work with junior high and high school students in an effort to equip them with the critical thinking skills and resiliency necessary to make better choices and have stronger, healthier relationships in the future,” Kirker says. “Trying to take an entire organization and whittle our mission, our impact, our needs and our vision into 180 seconds seems like a monumental task, but the men and women of SVP and Skystone made it all possible.”

For SVP, being able to successfully make that quick delivery is key.

“It’s important that nonprofits tell their story in a clear and compelling way that inspires individuals and foundations to want to financially support them and their mission,” says Melisse May, Social Venture Partners member and Chair of Fast Pitch 2015.

More than $30,000 in awards will be given out at this year’s competition, and a single nonprofit will have the opportunity to win the public’s vote and potentially take away $10,000. Yet the training itself is a valuable investment for the organizations regardless of whether or not they win the competition.

“The coaching provided was extremely beneficial,” says Angela Laman of Adopt a Book, also a semifinalist. “Hearing the responses and suggestions from the other semifinalists was also helpful. I felt like SVP and the other organizations that came to present, such as Flywheel and Giveunity, are really invested in wanting to see the organizations succeed.”

Brittany York is a freelance writer, adjunct English composition instructor and server at Orchids at Palm Court. She loves travel and photography. Keep up with Brittany on Instagram @brittbrittbrittbrittany.